WASHINGTON (TND) — Chief Medical Advisor to the President Dr. Anthony Fauci says he will retire before the end of President Biden’s term, according to a Politico report published Monday.

Fauci, who spent more than three decades leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), became a household name during the coronavirus pandemic. His frequent media appearances earned him both praise and criticism, particularly regarding his recommendations for COVID-19 mitigation.

The report of Fauci’s planned retirement comes just days after he resumed media appearances following a battle with COVID-19, which Fauci says “rebounded” after he took the antiviral drug Paxlovid. Fauci’s latest advice to the American public is to wear a mask in “indoor congregate settings” to help slow the spread of the “BA.5” coronavirus variant.

Fauci recently defended the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations for children despite hesitancy from other medical professionals, noting side effects resulting from COVID-19 vaccines have been found to be “no better, or worse” than those elicited from “any of a number of childhood vaccines.”